Churches, by nature, are selfish. Because the church is made up of people, and people are fundamentally self-serving, the church ends up expending much of its time, money, and energy on those who are already part of the family of God.

I am not seeking to be critical or mean-spirited—I am just reporting what I see and experience everywhere I travel and talk with church people. When I say this to church groups, and I do regularly, they never push back! They realize that it is true.

Now, here is the good news: since most churches are very concerned about taking care of themselves, they have developed a lot of good ministries to serve those who are part of their particular congregation. Even small churches often have plenty going on to care for, serve, minister to, educate, and inspire their own constituents.

Some years ago, I began thinking about the amazing things that could happen if local churches would vector their time, creativity, resources, and ministries out into the community. I call this the “two-degree rule.” The idea is that we would take the effective and plentiful things we do for ourselves and simply direct these same things out into our community.

Here are three examples that will bring this idea alive … and inspire you to do the same at your church.

• Meals for the Unchurched

A medium-sized Reformed church was asking the question, “What do we do well (for ourselves) that we can offer to our community?” One person said, “Our church is 104 years old and I am pretty sure we have had a ‘meals ministry’ for about 104 years.” For over a century, this church brought meals for five days in a row to anyone who had surgery, a new baby, or a family crisis. To be more specific, they offered these meals to anyone … in their church!

As they talked about vectoring out into their community a couple of degrees, they decided to offer this same service to anyone in their community who had just had a baby, surgery, or crisis as long as they were not part of a church family. This 104-year-old, inward-focused ministry became a powerful new outreach ministry and they did not have to add staff, budget, or a new program! They just offered what they were already doing for themselves to their community.

• At a Crossroads

A large Wesleyan church had a dynamic ministry called Crossroads. Once a month, those who were between jobs, looking for a change in career direction, or at any kind of a vocational crossroads would meet to talk, network, pray for each other, offer support, and learn biblical lessons to help them through this challenging season of life. As you might guess, for all the years the Crossroads ministry existed, the church had only invited Christians from their congregation to attend.

When they heard the challenge to vector out a couple of degrees into their community and offer their existing ministries to those who are not yet followers of Jesus, they took it seriously. The members of the Crossroads group went to a local job fair and handed out invitations to anyone interested. In a matter of a couple of months, about half the people coming to this ministry were unchurched. And, they loved it. Friendships were built, connections were made, and gospel relationships were born.